Adaptation Fund Project Pipeline Enhanced with New Approvals at the 28th Board Meeting

Bonn, Germany (October 7, 2016) – At the conclusion of its 28th meeting in Bonn, the Adaptation Fund Board decided to approve two new concrete climate change adaptation projects in India and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, and endorse eight project concepts in several other countries, as well as two project pre-concepts.

Altogether 28 project submissions were reviewed, which speaks to the high demand for the Fund and climate adaptation in developing countries.

“We received an unprecedented number of proposals, and approved two adaptation projects that will benefit vulnerable populations in India and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, in addition to endorsing another 10 project concepts and pre-concepts,” said Adaptation Fund Board Chair Naresh Sharma.

“It speaks to the growing pipeline of the Fund, and its concrete activities to support the most vulnerable communities in developing countries build resilience to climate change,” added Adaptation Fund Board secretariat Manager Marcia Levaggi.

Among other key decisions, the Board decided to further its operational policies for countries to access Fund resources under its new gender policy and action plan approved in March; approve an Ad Hoc Complaint Handling Mechanism for project stakeholders; and a resource mobilization strategy that lays out a plan for the Fund to raise between US$ 80 million and US$ 100 million resources per year during coming years.

The Board additionally decided to proceed with plans and requests for proposals to undertake Phase 2 of the overall independent evaluation of the Adaptation Fund. Phase 1 results showed the Fund to be effective, relevant and efficient and an innovative learning institution, while Phase 2 will focus on programs and projects. Given the high demand for the Fund’s Pilot Program for Regional Projects, the Board also decided to continue financing regional projects and programs beyond the Pilot Program.

Furthermore, the Board decided to increase its linkages with the Green Climate Fund (GCF) by attending an annual dialogue and continuing to discuss ways to enhance complementarity and cohesion between the two Funds. It also decided to fast-track reaccreditation of its implementing entities that are also accredited with GCF.

Patricia Espinosa, the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, also addressed the Board and praised the Adaptation Fund’s work as making “significant contributions to implementing concrete adaptation activities to reduce vulnerability” in developing countries and building knowledge, experience and capacity. She said Direct Access is a “very important innovation that the Adaptation Fund has pioneered” and encouraged Parties and other organizations to continue to support the Fund. With the Paris Agreement coming into force and the enormity of adaptation needs, she said adaptation finance is incredibly important and that it is a unique opportunity for all stakeholders to scale up climate actions.

Project decisions included:

Approval of a US$ 2.55 million project in India: Building adaptive capacities of communities, livelihoods and ecological security in the Kanha-Pench Corridor of Madya Pradesh, proposed by the Fund’s accredited National Implementing Entity (NIE) for India, the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development. The project aims to build resilient livelihoods and address unsustainable use of resources, as well as land and ecosystem deterioration exacerbated by climate change.

Approval of a US$ 4.5 million project in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic: Enhancing the climate and disaster resilience of the most vulnerable rural and emerging urban human settlements, proposed by the multilateral implementing entity (MIE) United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat). The project aims to increase sustainable access to basic infrastructure systems and services, emphasizing resilience to storms, floods, droughts, landslides and disease outbreaks.

Endorsement of the project concept: Community-based integrated farming system for climate change adaptation in Namibia, proposed by the NIE, Desert Research Foundation of Namibia (DRFN), and approval of a project formulation grant of US$ 30,000.

Endorsement of the project concept: Pilot desalination plant with renewable power and membrane technology in Namibia, proposed by DRFN, and approval of a project formulation grant of US$ 30,000.

Endorsement of the project concept: Increasing the resilience of vulnerable communities in the agricultural sector of Mandouri in northern Togo, proposed by the Regional Implementing Entity (RIE), West African Development Bank (BOAD).

Endorsement of the project concept in Fiji: Increasing the resilience of informal urban settlements that are highly vulnerable to climate change and disaster risks, proposed by UN-Habitat.

The Board also endorsed these proposals under the Fund’s Regional Pilot Program:

Endorsement of the project pre-concept for Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger: Integration of climate change mitigation and adaptation measures, proposed by the RIE, Sahara and Sahel Observatory (OSS). The project is aimed at strengthening ecosystem resilience and improving livelihoods by establishing a Multi-Risk Early Warning System and implementing concrete adaptation measures.

Endorsement of the project pre-concept for Comoros, Madagascar, Malawi and Mozambique: Building urban climate resilience in southeastern Africa, proposed by UN-Habitat.

Endorsement of the project concept for Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Niger and Togo: Promoting climate-smart agriculture in West Africa, proposed by BOAD, and approval of a project formulation grant of US$ 80,000.

Endorsement of the project concept for Colombia and Ecuador: Building adaptive capacity through food security and nutrition actions in vulnerable Afro and indigenous communities in the countries’ border area, proposed by the MIE the World Food Programme, and approval of a project formulation grant of US$ 80,000.

Endorsement of the project concept for Mauritius and Seychelles: Restoring marine ecosystem services by rehabilitating coral reefs to meet a changing climate future, proposed by the MIE United Nations Development Programme, and approval of a project formulation grant of US$80,000.

ABOUT the ADAPTATION FUND

Since 2010, the Adaptation Fund has committed US $362 million to support 55 concrete, localized climate adaptation and resilience projects in 48 countries, with more than 3.6 million direct beneficiaries.